Preserving Garden Herbs

Before the cold weather gets here I cut my herbs and preserve them. I have been using my fresh herbs all summer but now it’s time to preserve what is left. I preserve my herbs by dehydrating them and storing them in airtight containers. For the last two days I have dehydrated my sage, thyme and rosemary. I still have parsley to do….a LOT of parsley!

Last year I did a blog all about dehydrating herbs. It is a very informative blog about different methods of dehydrating herbs and which method is the best for certain herbs . Go ahead and check it out and see how simple it is to Preserve Garden Herbs.

Sturdy herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme I simply drop loosely by the branch into a paper bag. I might toss them occasionally in the bag, but mostly leave them alone and they dry out nicely in a week or so. I use the dehydrator for the more tender herbs like basil, parsley, chives etc.

I’m glad to hear you dehydrate chives! I have them and wan’t sure they would dehydrate very well…thank you! I have only had my Excalibur Dehydrator 2 seasons now so it is still like a toy….lol I dehydrate everything! I even make yogurt in it!

That is a great idea with freezing the parsley. I grew some last year but used most all of it and didn’t have enough to dehydrate. This year we planted two kinds and I have plenty. I have a large dehydrator with 9 trays so I’m hoping to get a lot dried.

Wow, a dehydrator. That sounds interesting … I lost all my herbs last winter, even the rosemary froze to death. So I’m still recovering and re-planting. I only have a few things on my window sill which are barely enough for cooking.

I just love seeing all my little jars filled with our home grown herbs. I always think I will make some for gifts at Christmas but I just keep them for myself…lol I am afraid I will run out with all the cooking that I do. I did give my homemade vanilla extract as gifts though.

What a wonderfully useful post. I just love you to bits!🤗 These are the type of tips we all need to know and practice. Here in Egypt the sun takes care of a lot of the drying. We are making units similar to your hydrator to dry all sorts of fruits, vegetables and of course herbs too. 😊

Thank you so much! Last year I dried apples, mushrooms, jalapeños and ground it into powder…etc. This year I haven’t been able to do quite as much. I have a huge dehydrator which makes it so easy. Have a great day!

Do you dry basil as well? I usually make pesto and freeze it b/c I’d heard basil loses so much of it’s flavor dried that it’s not really worth it. Not sure if that true with sweet basil, but this year I did dry some Thai basil and the flavor held up just fine.

Yes I do basil every year…except this year. We bought it from the nursery but they messed up the label and its not the basil I love. I actually made pesto from dried basil and thought it was good last year! I LOVE basil! I am so disappointed I don’t have any to dehydrate😢

I have always loved the name ‘Rosemary’! When I was small I pictured a red tinted gold branch with beautiful little flowers on it!
Great post! It’s a great idea to preserve herbs before the winter!
Good luck with the parsley!

No not at all. I have the blueberries, raspberries, asparagus, rhubarb, herbs & strawberries. My husband does the rest. We put a thick layer of straw down so the weeds are at a minimum. My husband does the watering and fertilizing. I just try to keep up on it and that way it never seems like that much work. Our 2-1/2 acres is a labor of love. Thank you Chris you are always so kind!